Reduce your ecological footprint in a laid-back way

Small deeds is an app that helps people establish eco-friendly habits through gamification, acknowledging the positive impact of their actions.




Timeline
2019 - 2 weeks

Client
Self-initiated

Tools
Overflow, Sketch, Photoshop, Marvel

My role
Scope, Concept development, User research, UX design, UI design




Challenge

Growing up in an environmentally aware family, I gradually integrated eco-friendly practices, that became habits.
Many people are willing to live more sustainably, but don't know where to start or struggle to maintain lifestyle changes, so I designed an app to help them out.


How might we help people reduce their ecological footprint and stick to eco-friendly habits?





Research

Secondary research & competitive analysis

To understand the topic and prepare the primary research I looked for:
  • relevant information on sustainable practices
  • information on the general public perception
  • similar or analogous apps or websites

    • Survey & interview

    To dig into people's motivations and struggles I created a survey, reaching out to 52 individuals, and did 5 one-on-one interviews.

    Findings

    • Existing tools offer unrealistic and intimidating challenges
    • People don't like to feel pressured or guilty
    • People want to know the impact of their actions
    • Ecological or bulk products are considered too expensive
    • People don't have much time

      • “Being eco-friendly is a privilege of people with time and money.”

      — One interviewee

      This unraveled some opportunities:
      • 81% of the interviewees want to adopt eco-friendly habits
      • 95% of the users are interested in discovering how to waste less
      • 91% would recycle or recycle more if wasn't complicated or time-consuming
      • 69% regret the lack of information on what and where to recycle

        • “It's impossible to go 100% plastic-free!”

        One interviewee

        Jobs to be done



        When adopting eco-friendly habits, people want to do it in a relaxed way, so that they don't feel guilty or pressured.


        When doing deeds, people need to see the global impact of their actions, so that they can be proud of their efforts.






        Scroll/swipe left to see the images, click to zoom
        Affinity diagram
        User journey
        User persona
        Competitive analysis


        Prototyping

        HMW introduce people to eco-friendly habits and alternatives in a relaxed way, acknowledging the positive impact of their actions?


        Concept

        Understanding the formation of habits was crucial for this project, thus I was inspired by some psychology articles and by the book The Power of Habit, where Charles Duhigg simplifies the habit formation in a 3-step neurological process based on a cue, an action and a reward.

        I applied this knowledge to the app by creating:
        • a dashboard featuring the actions,
        • a feedback page to reward the user,
        • a social feed and a gamification element, to work as cues.

          • After defining the information architecture and creating a user flow to understand how to organize the content, I explored different visual approaches.
          When creating the wireframes, I focused on limiting the cognitive load of the users, by showing only contextual information and disclosing it progressively


          Scroll/swipe left to see the images, click to zoom
          User flow
          Wireflow
          Prioritisation
          Sitemap

          Design

          The app has a clean UI and a calm design. The main color is a dark green, a series of bright and saturated colors represent the different categories of deeds (goods, waste, energy, food and transportation).


          Scroll/swipe left to see the images, click to zoom
          Style tile
          Icons
          Illustrations

          Final product

          Small deeds is an app to help people discover eco-friendly habits and adopt them at their own pace. They can track their progress, see the positive impact of their actions and be rewarded for them.
          The app also contains useful information and guidelines on recycling and local ecological shopping.


          Simple and relaxed ways to discover eco-friendly gestures

          A map of recyling points and eco-friendly shops

          Actions are acknowledged and encouraged through positive feedback






          Usability test & outcome

          A usability test conducted with 3 people, brought me to simplif the user interactiony and to carefully craft the UX writing, to convey the relaxed and positive tone of voice desired by the users.

          It also highlighted that people liked:
          • The screener as they realized they already had some eco-friendly habits
          • Keeping track of their performance in a gamified way
          • The feedback on their environmental impact
          • Sharing their experience, as it made them feel satisfied and inspired


            • Learnings & next steps

            An A/B test could be planned to decide to sort the habits by impact or difficulty.

            The KPIs could be based on who completes the tasks sooner, who stops and who deletes the app. The test should last the time it takes to form a habit, which is, in average, 66 days.

            In order to find a viable business model, different options could be tested like paid referrals for featured shops or events and affiliate marketing with eco-friendly shops or brands. It could also be possible to create a version of the app for companies, to help them obtain certifications related to the environment.





            👈 Previous

            Flex travel app

            Next 👉

            Wellcom